In the latest round of musical chairs involving chief executive officers at Triangle-area tech firms, Alan Robin is out and Dr. Lloyd Hey is in — temporarily, at least – at the helm of MDeverywhere.

The company, which enables doctors to digitize patient information on handheld devices, began putting the word out Monday that its board had decided a change was in order. As a result, says Ben Feldman, vice president of strategic planning and marketing, Rubin “will be resigning in the next few days.” Rubin could not be reached for comment.

MDeverywhere is now conducting a search for a full-time CEO.

Paradigm Genetics, TogetherSoft and LipoMed are other Triangle firms that recently replaced CEOs.

Hey, who founded what became MDeverywhere as ClinEffect Systems in 1995, came back in part to provide more visionary leadership for the company, Feldman says.

“This is a very good evolution for our company,” he explains. Describing the transition as “amicable,” Feldman says Rubin, who was CEO for 2 ½ years, was a “wonderful leader” whose skill set was more suited to operations rather than commercialization. “He understands that the company is growing in a different direction.”

Hey, who is chairman of the board and the company’s founder, and the board decided that new blood was needed to grow the company, Feldman says.

“We are broadening our vision,” he adds. He wouldn’t rule out a possible initial public offering, but he also says acquisitions also are possible. “Clearly a part of our strategy is to rapidly deploy our software and to very aggressively expand our core business.”

In order to do that, “We need a leader who will have more of a public face in the next stage of the company,” Feldman explains. He says the new boss will operate in a more “external” environment and will “pursue large contracts.” The change in emphasis from the CEO position to more of an evangelical role “precipitated the change.”

MDeverywhere is a growing company, with $10 million in annual sales, according to Feldman. It already has raised $30 million in venture capital, has 30 large groups of doctors as customers, and is looking for many more. (The only regional investor in the company is Monarch Capital out of Atlanta.)

Until a new CEO is found, Hey will reduce his MD role in order to spend more time at the company, Feldman says. Hey is an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Duke University Medical Center where he concentrates on spinal surgery.